Hackers using phony LinkedIn emails to install spyware

LinkedIn users, beware; hackers are using the website to install spyware on your computer.

Under the guise of a new contact request, convincing fake emails are being sent to email accounts by hackers. If you click on the link provided in the email, you will be redirected to an intermediary website that displays the text “Please waiting ... 4 seconds.” Those four seconds are all it takes for the hacker website to install the ZeuS spyware on your computer, which then attempts to steal personal information and passwords.

Messaging and security service Retarus sounded the alarm about this new threat. Retarus managing director, Martin Hager, warned in a press release, “Social media spam is particularly dangerous because the contents seem well-intended, and the original e-mails are so perfectly imitated, that lay persons are unable to identify them as fakes. Mail users who have defined social media platforms as safe senders, via whitelist entries in their spam filters, are especially affected.”

The best way to protect yourself from scams like this is to not click on links in emails, especially if you don’t recognize the sender. Your LinkedIn profile can be accessed by entering the URL directly, which guarantees you won’t be send to an interdiction website.

Has anyone received scammer emails like the ones Retarus is warning about? If so, post some details in the comments section, and maybe it will help some of our readers avoid hackers.

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals.
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Liam Britten

Liam Britten is a writer and editor with a journalism background operating out of Vancouver. In addition to his work at Techvibes, he has been published in student publications across Canada, as well as local newspapers such as The MapleRidge-Pitt Meadows TIMES and The Langley Advance.
An aficionado for the finer things in life — such as video games and sports — Liam is plugged into the tech...
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